Inside Alphabet’s money-spinning, terrorist-foiling, gigabit Wi-Fi kiosks

The free Wi-Fi kiosks that Alphabet’s urban innovation division Sidewalk Labs is selling — similar to those already on the streets of New York — will come with eyes, ears and a host of environmental, air and digital sensors to give the tech giant an unprecedented snapshot of urban life, according to documents obtained by Recode.

The documents, which formed part of Sidewalk Labs’ pitch to cities participating in the Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge, show that Alphabet — Google’s parent company — wants to monitor pedestrian, bike and car traffic, track passing wireless devices, listen to street noise and use the kiosks’ built-in video cameras to identify abandoned packages. Each kiosk will also generate an estimated $30,000 a year for the company from digital advertising. "The Kiosk sensor platform will help address complex issues where real-time ground truth is needed: Understanding and measuring traffic congestion, identifying dangerous situations like gas leaks, monitoring air quality, and identifying quality of life issues like idling trucks," says one promotional flyer.